Prepare your stay

Legal entry requirements

If you are a student from the European Union and the European Economic Area (EEA), Andorra, Monaco and Switzerland, you are exempt from visa and temporary residence permit requirements. You can come to France with a valid ID card or a passport.

Visa
If you are not a national from one of the countries listed above, it will be necessary to apply for a ‘long stay’ visa marked ‘student’ approximately 99€) at the French consular services in your country of residence. French consular services may require other documents in addition to your acceptance at HEAR and a proof that you have sufficient financial means to live in France (approximately: 615€/month). Find detailed guidelines to get your visa on the official French diplomatic website www.diplomatie.gouv.fr

Residence permit
In some cases, students with a one-year visa do not need a temporary residence permit and must go to the OFII, the procedure is explained upon reception of the visa. Other students must apply for a temporary residence permit at the prefecture of Strasbourg or Mulhouse.

To apply for a temporary residence permit (approximately 77€), you must submit the original and a photocopy of the following documents:
• your passport
• an enrollment certificate
• a proof of financial resources (same given for the visa application)
• a proof of residential address
• a birth certificate
• 3 ID pictures

Budget

Main expenses
The average monthly budget for a student is estimated between 350€ and 750€. It can vary between Strasbourg and Mulhouse and also depends on your personal lifestyle.

Arrival

By planeMulhouse
Euroairport www.euroairport.com
From the EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg, a shuttle bus connects the airport to the Saint Louis’s train station. There you can continue by
train, ter SNCF, to Strasbourg. www.ter.sncf.com

Strasbourg
The Strasbourg international airport www.strasbourg.aeroport.fr welcomes flights from more than 200 destinations. A shuttle train connects the airpost to the train station (9 min ride, 4.30€) www.ter.sncf.com

By Car sharing
Within France the cheapest way to travel is by car sharing using Blablacar. www.blablacar.fr

Housing

Housing in Mulhouse and Strasbourg
HEAR does not have on-campus accommodation. However, the International Office can provide a list of offers for shared flats or apartments to rent
(mostly offers from our outgoing students).

Student housing in Strasbourg
A few rooms in the Strasbourg student residency (Paul Appell & La Robertsau) can be reserved through the HEAR International Office.
If you are interested please contact international@hear.fr

Housing budgetGarant | Housing Garantor
Your landlord might ask for a Garantor (a person who takes responsibility of the rent if it isn’t paid anymore) before signing the lease. Consequently, we strongly advise you to bring with you copies of the pay slips and accommodation certificates of your parents or relatives who would be ok to take this responsibility. If you can’t find a garantor you can apply to the French goverment garantor organisation (CLE) on lokaviz website. www.lokaviz.fr

Frais d’agence | Agency fees
If you find your accommodation via a renting agency, you will generally have to pay a month’s rent in agency fees. Also, beware of the agencies offering access to a list of accommodations available. The access to this list usually costs around 150€ and this sum will not be reimbursed, even if you do not find any accommodation through this agency.

Caution | First deposit
Rent prices in Strasbourg and Mulhouse can vary between 200€ and 500€ per month (180€ in a student residency room). A first deposit will be required before you move in ; it usually equals 1 month rent. This deposit will be refunded at the end of your stay if there hasn’t been any damage to the property. There is also a mandatory subscription to annual housing insurance that can cost between 6€ and 50€.

APL | Housing financial assistance
You should check as soon as possible whether you are eligible for housing financial assistance in France. The Caisse d’Allocations Familiales (CAF) is a French state assistance fund which can provide housing aid called APL (Aide Personnalisée au Logement). The level of help depends on your income, type of housing and rent paid. In case of shared property, every tenant can benefit, but only with regards to the proportion of the rent. Each individual must apply separately.

For more information, please read the CAF brochure in English which explains the procedure step-by-step. www.caf.fr

CAF officeMulhouse
26 Avenue Robert Schuman

Strasbourg
18 Rue de Berne

Insurances

During your stay in France, you might be required to show proof of subscription to one or several types of insurance such as liability insurance, housing insurance or health insurance.

Assurance responsabilité civile | Civil liability
insurance If you unintentionally caused damage to another person or his/her property, your insurance agency will deal with the claim (this insurance is required to use or borrow certain equipment at HEAR).

Assurance logement | Housing insurance
By subscribing to this insurance, the apartment or room you rent and your possessions are covered against the risks of flood/fire damage or against burglary. This insurance often includes civil liability insurance but do check before subscribing. See below contact and addresses for LMDE and MGEL agencies in Strasbourg and Mulhouse.

Assurance Maladie | Health insurance
Health insurance is a complex but essential point you will need to review before coming to France.

Exchange Students
As an exchange student, you are not required to register to French social security, but you must bring one of the 3 documents below:
• a European health insurance card (only students from EU/EEA). This card should be requested at your local health services agency in your home country. If you pay for healthcare services in France, this card will enable you to forward your requests for reimbursements to your health agency in your country.
• or a certificate of private insurance providing full coverage for medical risks, without restrictions related to cost, valid for the duration of the stay in France.
• or a SE401-Q-104 form issued by the Régie d’Assurance Maladie du Québec (only studentsfrom Quebec).

Regular students
If you don’t have one of the 3 elements above or if you are a regular student, you need to subscribe to French Social Security: French Social Security (Sécurité Sociale or Sécu) is the state institution providing financial assistance to one’s healthcare expenses. As an exchange student, you have the right to subscribe to the student social security scheme*.
The subscription for the academic year 2016-17 costs 215€

*If you are over 28 years old you cannot subscribe to student social security scheme, please enquire about the general social security scheme at the Caisse Primaire d’Assurance Maladie (CPAM) in Strasbourg or Mulhouse.

Social security works with reimbursement rates which allow from 15 to 70% of the total medical service fees to be reimbursed to the beneficiaries. If you subscribe, you will be given a carte vitale that should be presented during visits to all healthcare professionals: doctors, medical
specialists, hospitals, clinics, pharmacies. This card allows quick reimbursements of 15 to 70% of your healthcare expenses, and an additional 30% for those who have subscribed to top-up/complementary insurance.

Mutuelle | Complementary insurance
Social Security only reimburses part of your healthcare expenses. Mutuelle/complementary insurance will cover all or part of the difference
between the medical service fee and the French social security reimbursement rate. In Strasbourg and Mulhouse there are two student
health insurance agencies, LMDE and MGEL.

Healthcare

Whether you are insured in France or in your home country, you are generally required to pay medical expenses as they occur: when visiting a doctor, buying prescribed medicine or for medical tests. Then you can ask to be reimbursed by your health insurer. A general doctor may charge from 20€ to 25€ for a consultation.

Types of payment vary: doctors usually accept checks and credit cards, some might not accept cash.

The following medical center are accessible and English-friendly:

SUMPS
The SUMPS (Service Universitaire de Médecine Préventive et de Promotion de la Santé) is a student organisation in Strasbourg and Mulhouse which gives access to certain medical services (medical check, vaccin, social and psycological assistance etc.). The annual registration fee to these services costs around 5€ (please see HEAR Academic affairs offices to register)

Bank

Opening a bank account in France is not mandatory but it can be useful during your stay in France. For some regular payments (phone or rent) or for other transactions (such as refund from healthcare expenses or transfer of housing aid money), you might be asked to provide a RIB (Relevé d’Identité Bancaire), which provides your bank account details. It is available on your bank statements and in your check book. You can also print a RIB at an ATM machine or ask for one in your bank.

To open a bank account you will in most cases need to present the following documents:
• Your ID, your residency permit (titre de séjour),
• a proof of address including your name and address, (rent contract, phone bill), or a certificate from your landlord (attestation d’hébergement) with a copy of his/her ID and a bill with his/her name.

Phone

In order to communicate with your French friends and fellow students we recommend you to acquire a French phone number as quickly as possible.

Please give your French phone number to the International Office who might call you in case of emergencies.

Monthly payments are called forfait. Make sure to choose a forfait sans engagement as opposed to 12 months or 24 months contracts. You can compare online forfait prices on touslesforfaits or lebonforfait websiteswww.touslesforfaits.frwww.lebonforfait.fr